David Cameron has admitted that new military pension plans will hit our heroes and their widows in the pocket.

But the Prime Minister said the proposed new method of calculating forces’ pensions is “the most appropriate”.

The admission from the PM came in a letter to General Sir Roger Wheeler – former Chief of the General Staff and President of the Forces Pension Society, which is fighting the cuts.

Along with all public service pensions, Mr Cameron is planning to save billions by making military pensions linked to the Consumer Prices Index rather than sticking to the Retail Prices Index.

As revealed by the Daily Mirror’s Pensions Fit For Heroes campaign, a CPI index – usually around 1% lower than RPI – could cost a war widow over £500,000 in her lifetime. An army sergeant retiring at 40 could lose £110,439 by 75.

Mr Cameron told General Sir Roger Wheeler in a letter last month: “The move to the CPI will result in an uplift of 3.1% from next April and will set the future of uprating on a more appropriate, consistent and stable basis that is fair to individuals and taxpayer.

“I do acknowledge that over the long term the CPI tends to rise more slowly than the RPI.

“But it is the most appropriate way to track and measure changes in average prices.”

Campaigners are furious that members of the Army, Navy and RAF, and their families and widows, will foot the bill for much of the Tory-led cost-cutting.